Automatic turret lathes

ABSTRACT

A hydraulically powered, cam controlled means for actuating the turret slide of an automatic turret lathe including a valve actuator, which translates any input motion received from the cam into endwise motion of the control valve spool regardless of the direction from which this motion is received, thereby making unlimited cam steepness possible, so that it becomes now possible to obtain any desired speed for the rapid advance, rapid return as well as for the feed motion of the turret slide, all positively controlled by the cam.

Umted States Patent 1151 3,694,875 Zimmermann 1 Oct. 3, 1972 [54] AUTOMATIC TURRET LATHES 2,090,178 8/ 1937 Brickner ..90/62 X [72] Inventor: Lukas Zimmerman, 5755 Bloom 2,313,438 3/1943 Moelschee.... ..29/42 X 23 glens Birmmgham, Michl FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 1,074,717 4/1954 France .1 ..29/42 1 Flledi July 10, 1970 1,184,898 7/1959 France ..408/35 21 A l. N 53,863 1 pp 0 Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Related US. Application Data Assistant ExaminerZ. R. Bilinsky [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 730,104, May Am)mey Evcrcn wright 17, abandoned. 52 115.01 ..29/42, 82/14 A, 408/3, A hydraulically powered, m n ll m n for 90/ 2 actuating the turret slide of an automatic turret lathe [51] Int. Cl. ..B23b 7/02 including a Valve actuator, which translates any input [58] Field of Search "29/42; 90/62; 82/14, 14 A; motion received from the cam into endwise motion of 408/35 IOIDIG 3 128 p the control valve spool regardless of the direction from which this motion is received, thereby making unlimited cam steepness possible, so that it becomes [56] References cued now possible to obtain any desired speed for the rapid UNITED STATES PATENTS advance, rapid return as well as for the feed motion of the turret slide, all positively controlled by the cam. 2,094,817 10/1937 Poppens1eker ..I ..29/42 2,579,566 12/ 1951 Godfriaux ..29/42 X 15 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures Ill/i11- [HUM PATENTEDUBT 3 m2 SHEET 1 OF T INVEN OR. LU KAS ZIMMERMANN WW I I q ATTOR EY PATENTEDum m2 SHEET 2 OF 7 INVENTOR. LUKAS 'ZIMMERMANN P'A'TENTEDnm m2 SHEET & 0F 7 X INVENTOR. LUKAS ZIMMERMANN ATT NEY PATENTEMNB m2 3.694.875

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mm Om m NOON Om 008 OOmm mm. OOOF hm moo wm OON mm O mm ow own w mm mm AUTOMATIC TURRET LATIIES This Application is a continuation-in-part of the applicants prior co-pending application Ser. No. 730,104, filed May 17, 1968, now abandoned, for improvements in AUTOMATIC TURRET LATHES.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In conventional prior art automatic turret lathes, the turret slide is generally cam advanced and spring returned with the cam in contact with a roller mounted on the turret slide. As the cam is rotated, a rise on the cam will force the turret slide to advance toward the work, while a drop" on the cam will permit the spring to retract the turret slide from the work. To accomplish its required function, the turret slide has a turret mounted thereon carrying a plurality of cutting tools which are indexable to present them sequentially to the work. During each working strike, the turret slide must go through three basic movements; first, a rapid advance movement for moving a tool into position to start a cut or other operation on the work piece; second, feed movement which moves the tool into the work during the cut at the desired feed rate usually expressed in inches per revolution of the work piece; and third, rapid return movement which returns the turret slide quickly to its retracted position.

Since time is an important factor in any manufacturing operation, it is necessary to perform each of the three above listed steps in the shortest possible time. Examining these three steps for possible time savings, we find that the time for the second step, i.e., for the feed movement, is predetermined by the dimensions of the work piece, by the permissible cutting speed which depends upon the material of the work piece, and by the desired feed rate.

If time savings are to be made, they must occur during the idle motions, i.e., during the rapid advance and the rapid return motions.

In order to make the rapid advance of the turret slide as fast as possible, the rise of the cam must be made as steep as possible. However, in prior art machines, there is a practical limit to this, since due to friction and other factors depending on the general design of the machine, too steep a cam at best will require much higher torque for rotating the cam, thus overloading the cam drive mechanism, and at worst will even become self-locking. To safeguard against this, the maximum cam rise angle is generally considered to be from 45 to 60.

For the rapid return motion the speed of the turret slide can be made as fast as desired, since in this case the power for moving the turret slide is furnished by the return spring, and there is no limit to the steepness of the cam drop. However, there is a factor which delays the start of the return motion considerably. It has to do with the size of the cam roller. Due to the large forces transmitted through it, this roller must be of substantial size. It is obvious, that at the end of a cut, when the slide has reached its extreme forward position, it will require a cam motion roughly equal to one-half the roller diameter before the return motion reaches its full speed. This results in the loss of valuable time.

In view of the foregoing, the primary object of the invention is to provide a means for actuating the turret slide of an automatic turret lathe which permits the use of cams of unlimited steepness, thereby making it possi- 1 ble to select any'desired speed for the rapid advance movement of the turret slide, and then determine the required cam angle by calculation.

A further object of the invention is to eliminate the time loss, which, in prior art turret lathes, is caused by the delay at the start of the rapid return motion because of the size of the conventional cam roller.

A further object of the invention is to provide convenient longitudinal adjustments (coarse and fine) for quickly and accurately positioning the turret slide in relation to the work.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manual control of the turret slide to facilitate setup of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to reduce the loads and friction on turret slide ways, thereby reducing wear and maintain accuracy.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The cam controlled hydraulically powered system disclosed in this application, although primarily intended for actuating the turret slide of an automatic turret lathe, may also be used for improving the per-, formance of other tool slides or machine slides in general, which are presently actuated by conventional cams, whenever idle time losses inherent in the conventional cam system are objectionable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The following prior art patents have come within the knowledge of the applicant, and none disclose or anticipate the invention residing in this application:

United States Letters Patent No. 3,212,370 of 1965 to Spriggs et al.

No. 2,579,566 of 1957 to Godfriaux No. 2,313,438 of 1945 to Hoelscher No. 2,090,178 of 1937 to Brickner French Letters Patent No. 1,074,717 of 1954 to Tarex SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the instant invention, all forces for moving the turret slide are furnished by a double acting hydraulic cylinder so that hydraulic fluid under pressure fed to the cylinder can be used to move the turret slide in either direction.

The movements of the turret slide are then controlled by a hydraulic control valve in cooperation with a drum cam, which, during the time for completing one work piece, rotates 360 about its axis.

The control valve, which, during operation moves in unison with the turret slide, is oriented so that the axis of the valve spool forms substantially 90 angles with the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of a cam element at the instant it actuates the valve.

Operation of the valve spool from the cam is accomplished by an all directional symmetrical valve actuating means which translates any input motion received It becomes therefore possible to choose any desired speed for operating the turret slide up to a maximum value determined by the flow capacity of the pump, and from this determine the required cam rise by calculation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is now made to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an improved automatic turret lathe of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the automatic turret lathe shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a developed view of a typical cam employed to operate the improved hydraulic control valve.

FIG. 9 is a more or less diagrammatic view of a camstylus operated hydraulic control valve employed in the instant invention.

FIG. 10 shows the cam-stylus operated control valve disclosed in FIG. 9 disposed in its fully open Turret Slide Advance Position.

FIG. 11 shows the cam-stylus operated control valve disclosed in FIG. 9 disposed in its fully open Turret Slide Retract Position.

FIG. 9-A is a more or less diagrammatic view of a cam-plunger operated hydraulic control valve that may be employed rather than the camstylus operated control valve of FIG. 9, the said cam-plunger operated control valve of FIG. 9-A being shown in its fully closed zero flow neutral position.

FIG. l0-A shows the cam-plunger operated control valve disclosed in FIG. 9-A disposed in its fully open turrent slide advance position.

FIG. ll-A shows the cam-plunger operated control valve disclosed in FIG. 9-A disposed in its fully open turrent slide retract position.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the lower portion of the cam-plunger operated control valve shown in FIG. 9-A.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 13-13 ofFIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the hydraulically powered, cam controlled system for actuating the turret slide of the invention disclosed herein is incorporated in a conventional turret lathe 20.

All forces for moving the turret slide 26 are furnished by a double acting hydraulic cylinder 35, so that hydraulicfluid under pressure can be used to move the turret slide in either direction.

All movements of the turret slide are then controlled by a hydraulic control valve 50 in cooperation with a drum cam 47 which, during the time for completing one work piece, rotates 360 about its axis.

The control valve 50 may be mounted either directly on the turret slide 26, or, as shown in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, on an auxiliary slide 40, which during operation moves in unison with the turret slide, the control valve being oriented so that the axis of the valve spool 60 forms substantially 90 angles with the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of a cam element at the instant it actuates the valve.

Operation of the valve spool 60 from the cam 47 is accomplished by an all directional symmetrical valve actuating means which translates any input motion received from the cam into endwise motion of the valve spool, regardless of the direction of this input motion.

In one embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 9, l0 and 11, said valve actuating means consists of a stylus supported by a spherical bearing located on the axis AF of the valve housing 51.

The spherical bearing 75 permits the stylus 70 to be tilted about the center point of the sphere by a small amount in any desired direction.

The upper end surface 740 of the stylus is a circular flat surface disposed at right angles with the stylus axis. In its normal position it contacts the lower end surface of the valve spool 60.

The valve spool 60 is constantly urged downward by the valve spring 68 so that its lower end surface is forced against the upper end surface of the stylus 70, thereby constantly urging the stylus toward its central position as shown in FIG. 10.

If, by applying a side force, the stylus is tilted out of its central position in any direction, the outer edge of the top surface 740 of the stylus will force the valve spool 60 upward, first closing the valve, and, if moved still further, opening it in the opposite direction.

Assuming now that the stylus 70 is free to assume its central position, the valve spool 60 will then be in its lowest position, and the valve is fully open to cause forward motion of the turret slide 26. This motion continues at full speed until stylus comes into contact with the cam 47. Further motion of the turret slide causes the stylus to tilt, as shown in FIG. 9, forcing the valve spool upward, thereby closing the valve and bringing the forward motion of the turret slide 26 to a standstill. From this point on, as the cam rotates, all turret slide movements are completely controlled by the contour of the cam.

Considering now the fact that tilting of the stylus will cause upward movement of the valve spool, regardless of the direction in which the stylus is tilted, it now becomes obvious that there is no longer any limitation to the steepness of the cam rise. If, as the cam rotates, an extremely steep cam rise comes into contact with the stylus, it will tilt the stylus sideways, thereby forcing the valve spool upward and initiating the rapid return motion. The maximum turret slide speed now depends only on the maximum flow capacity of the pump in relation to the effective piston area of the hydraulic cylinder. It becomes therefore possible to choose any desired speed for operating the turret slide up to the maximum value determined by the flow capacity of the pump, and then determine the required rise by calculatron.

In order to permit manual operation or the turret slide 26, the stylus 70 can be tilted by manual control means 90 which consists of a manual control cam 91 mounted on a transverse cam shaft 92 carried by the control valve slide 40 and operated by a manual control lever 93.

FIGS. 9-A, 10-A, ll-A, l2 and 13 show a modified embodiment of the hydraulic control valve, wherein actuation of the valve spool from the cam is accomplished by a plunger instead of the previously described stylus.

This valve operating plunger 700 is slidably mounted on a common axis with the valve spool 60, its upper flat end surface 7000 pressing the valve spool against the spring 68, while its lower conically shaped end surface 7001 contacts the edge of the cam, so that any movement of the cam toward the axis of the plunger causes endwise movement of the valve spool against the spring, regardless of the direction from which the cam edge approaches the axis of the plunger, thereby permitting the use of cams of unlimited steepness.

The manual control cam 91 of the manual control means 90 used to advance and retract the turret slide 26, is located in a suitable recess 7002 formed in one side of the plunger 700.

Port A of the double acting power cylinder 35 is connected to Port CVA of the control valve 50, and Port B of the double acting cylinder 35 is connected to Port CVB of the said control valve 50. Port CVS of the control valve 50 is connected to a conventional fluid pressure source S (not shown) which may consist of a conventional electric driven pump and a fluid reservoir. Ports CVR of the control valve 50 are connected by a suitable fluid return line R to the reservoir of the said fluid pressure source S.

As best shown in FIG. 4, 5 and 6, the control valve slide 40 is connected to the turret slide 26 by a connecting rod 43, which is fixed at one end to said turret slide and extends parallel to the turret slide ways 25 through the control valve slide 40. FIG. 6 shows a wedge type clamp 44 which permits clamping the control valve slide to the connecting rod in any longitudinally adjusted position relative to the turret slide.

As shown in FIG. 7, a micro-adjustment means is provided on the axial outer end 451 of the cam carrier drum 45 to effect the fine axial adjustment of the cam carrier drum 45 and the cylindrical cam 47 thereon.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the axis of the double acting power cylinder 35 is located in line with the axis of the headstock spindle of the machine, so that the thrust for feeding the turret slide 26 into the work is applied in line with the heaviest cutting forces applied to the work, which generally occur when using large drills.

Although only a single embodiment of the invention and one modification thereof has been disclosed herein and described in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the size, shape, arrangement and detail of the various elements of the invention, all without de parting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automatic turret lathe including a headstock for holding and rotating the work, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying aplurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination,

a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed P a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith,

a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure,

a double acting hydraulic power cylinder for reciprocating the turret slide,

a hydraulic control spool valve moving in unison with said turret slide controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid required for reciprocation of the turret slide,

said hydraulic control valve being oriented so that the axis of the valve spool forms substantially angles with respect to the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of any cam element at the instant it actuates the valve,

a valve spring urging the spool of said hydraulic control valve into its fully open position for causing forward movement of the turret slide, and

a valve actuating means for translating any input motion received from said cam into endwise motion of said valve spool against the pressure of said spring regardless of the direction of said input motion whereby to control the forward and return movement of the turret slide.

2. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the valve actuating means consists of a stylus supported on and extending from a spherical bearing having a flat top surface located in line with the axis of the valve spool and tiltable in any direction whereby the edge portion of its flat circularly shaped top surface moves the valve spool axially against the pressure of the valve spring regardless of the direction in which the stylus is tilted by said cam.

3. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic control valve is mounted directly on the turret slide and includes means adjusting its position thereon in the direction of movement of the turret slide.

4. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic control valve is mounted on an auxiliary slide for movement parallel with and in unison with the turret slide,

a connecting rod fixed to said turret slide extending parallel to the turret slide ways, and

means adjustably connecting said auxiliary slide to said connecting rod for longitudinal movement therewith whereby said control vale is moved in unison with said turret slide in any longitudinally adjusted position.

5. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including means for making longitudinal micro-adjustments of said cam relative to said cam shaft.

6. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including manual control means for tilting said stylus operable independently of said cam whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically under manual control.

7. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including manual control means for moving said valve actuating means independent of said cam whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically under manual control.

8. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the double acting hydraulic power cylinder is located on a common axis with respect to the axis of the headstock spindle of the machine.

9. In an automatic turret lathe including a work holding and rotating headstock, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and means indexing said turret once after each said tool element has completed its operational engagement with said work to present each said tool element sequentially for performing an operation on said rotating work,

a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure,

a double acting hydraulic power cylinder having its piston connected to said turret slide for reciprocating the same to move each indexed tool element carried by said turret sequentially into operating engagement with said work,

a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed part,

a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith including manually operated micro-adjustment means selectively positioning said cam longitudinally on said cam shaft whereby to accurately limit the cam controlled movement of said turret slide with respect to said work, a cam actuated hydraulic valve control means movable in unison with said turret slide,

said cam being formed to engage said hydraulic valve control means causing it to apply hydraulic fluid under pressure alternately to opposite ends of said cylinder and thereby reciprocate said turret slide repeatedly with a Rapid Advance, relatively slow Tool Feed and Rapid Return movement with respect to said work whereby to apply each said indexed turret carried tool element to said work and perform sequentially a plurality of operations on said work during each revolution of said cam shaft and produce one completed part.

10. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cam actuated hydraulic valve means comprises a spool valve consisting of a housing including a body member having a valve spool bore axially therethrough, a cap element, and a base element having an annular segmental spherical bearing element therein,

a stylus extending axially through said base element and said bearing element in annular spaced relationship with respect thereto including an enlarged segmental spherical flat headed bearing portion seated on said segmental bearing element in said housing,

a valve spool reciprocatingly mounted in the valve spool bore of said housing,

a compression spring in said valve body member constantly urging said valve spool against the flat head of the bearing portion of said stylus whereby to axially center said stylus,

annular fluid passages in said valve spool and said valve spool bore, and ports connecting said valve spool bore passages selectively to a source of fluid under pressure and a return thereto and selectively to opposite ends of said double acting power cylinder, all responsive to cam controlled angular positioning of said stylus, the cam angles employed to angularly position said stylus to control the Rapid Advance and Rapid Return of said turret slide having steepness up to as high as 90. 1 11. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 10 wherein manual control means is provided to move said stylus independently of said cam controlled means whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically during set up of the turret lathe for change-over from one production run to another.

12. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 10 wherein a hydraulic control valve slide mounted on fixed ways disposed parallel to said turretslide ways has said hydraulic control valve means mounted thereon with the stylus thereof disposed directly ovr said cam shaft,

a connecting rod fixed to said turret slide and extending parallel to said ways from said turret slide, and means removably clamping said hydraulic control valve slide to said connecting rod extending from said turret slide whereby said control valve slide is moved in unison with said turret slide in any longitudinal adjusted position with respect thereto.

13. in an automatic turret lathe including a work holding and rotating headstock, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination,

a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure,

a double acting hydraulic power cylinder having its piston connected to said turret slide for reciprocating the same to move each indexed tool element carried by said turret sequentially into and out of engagement with said work,

a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce on completed P a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith,

a cam actuated stylus operated hydraulic valve control means connecting said hydraulic fluid pressure source to opposite ends of said hydraulic cylinder reciprocating said turret slide whereby to apply said turret carried tool elements sequentially into and out of engagement with said rotating work, and

said cam being formed to engage the stylus of said hydraulic valve control means at selected angles whereby to apply hydraulic fluid under pressure to said power cylinder and reciprocate said turret slide repeatedly with a Rapid Advance, relatively slow Tool Feed and Rapid Return movement with respect to said work causing said tool elements indexed by said turret to perform sequentially a plurality of operations on said work during each revolution of said cam shaft whereby to produce one completed part,

a housing including a body member having a valve spool bore axially therethrough, a cap element and a base element having an annular segmental spherical bearing element therewith,

a stylus extending axially through said base element and said bearing element in annular spaced relationship with respect thereto including an enlarged segmental spherical flat headed bearing portion seated on said segmental bearing element in said housing,

a valve spool reciprocatingly mounted in the valve spool bore of said housing,

a compression spring in said valve body member constantly urging said valve spool against the flat head of the bearing portion of said stylus whereby to axially center said stylus,

annular fluid passages in said valve spool and said valve spool bore, and ports connecting said valve spool bore passages selectively to a source of fluid under pressure and a return thereto and selectively to opposite ends of said double acting power cylinder, all responsive to cam controlled angular positioning of said stylus,

the cam angles employed to angularly position said stylus to control the Rapid Advance and Rapid Return of said turret slide having steepness up to as high as 90.

14. In an automatic turret lathe including a headstock for holding and rotating the work, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination,

a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed part,

a cam having beveled cam surfaces mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith,

a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure,

a double acting hydraulic power cylinder for reciprocating the turret slide,

a hydraulic control valve moving in unison with said turret slide controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid required for reciprocation of the turret slide,

said hydraulic control valve having a valve spool and being oriented so that the axis of the valve spool forms substantially angles with respect to the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of any cam element at the instant it actuates the valve,

a valve spring urging the spool of said hydraulic control valve into its fully open position for causing forward movement of the turret slide,

a valve actuating means for translating any input motion received from said cam into endwise motion of said valve spool against the pressure of said spring regardless of the direction of said input motion whereby to control the forward and return movement of the turret slide.

15. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 14 wherein the valve actuating means consists of a valve operating plunger slidably mounted in a common axis with the valve spool having an upper flat end surface pressing the valve spool against the valve s rin and a lower conicall sha ed en su face cd nta ting the beveled edge su aces o sal d cam so that any movement of the cam toward the axis of the plunger causes endwise movement of the valve spool against the spring regardless of the direction from which the cam edge approaches the axis of the plunger. 

1. In an automatic turret lathe including a headstock for holding and rotating the work, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination, a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed part, a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith, a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, a double acting hydraulic power cylinder for reciprocating the turret slide, a hydraulic control spool valve moving in unison with said turret slide controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid required for reciprocation of the turret slide, said hydraulic control valve being oriented so that the axis of the valve spool forms substantially 90* angles with respect to the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of any cam element at the instant it actuates the valve, a valve spring urging the spool of said hydraulic control valve into its fully open position for causing forward movement of the turret slide, and a valve actuating means for translating any input motion received from said cam into endwise motion of said valve spool against the pressure of said spring regardless of the direction of said input motion whereby to control the forward and return movement of the turret slide.
 2. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the valve actuating means consists of a stylus supported on and extending from a spherical bearing having a flat top surface located in line with the axis of the valve spool and tiltable in any direction whereby the edge portion of its flat circularly shaped top surface moves the valve spool axially against the pressure of the valve spring regardless of the direction in which the stylus is tilted by said cam.
 3. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic control valve is mounted directly on the turret slide and includes means adjusting its position thereon in the direction of movement of the turret slide.
 4. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic control valve is mounted on an auxiliary slide for movement parallel with and in unison with the turret slide, a connecting rod fixed to said turret slide extending parallel to the turret slide ways, and means adjustably connecting said auxiliary slide to said connecting rod for longitudinal movement therewith whereby said control vale is moved in unison with said turret slide in any longitudinally adjusted position.
 5. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including means for making longitudinal micro-adjustments of said cam relative to said cam shaft.
 6. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including manual control means For tilting said stylus operable independently of said cam whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically under manual control.
 7. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 including manual control means for moving said valve actuating means independent of said cam whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically under manual control.
 8. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the double acting hydraulic power cylinder is located on a common axis with respect to the axis of the headstock spindle of the machine.
 9. In an automatic turret lathe including a work holding and rotating headstock, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and means indexing said turret once after each said tool element has completed its operational engagement with said work to present each said tool element sequentially for performing an operation on said rotating work, a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, a double acting hydraulic power cylinder having its piston connected to said turret slide for reciprocating the same to move each indexed tool element carried by said turret sequentially into operating engagement with said work, a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed part, a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith including manually operated micro-adjustment means selectively positioning said cam longitudinally on said cam shaft whereby to accurately limit the cam controlled movement of said turret slide with respect to said work, a cam actuated hydraulic valve control means movable in unison with said turret slide, said cam being formed to engage said hydraulic valve control means causing it to apply hydraulic fluid under pressure alternately to opposite ends of said cylinder and thereby reciprocate said turret slide repeatedly with a Rapid Advance, relatively slow Tool Feed and Rapid Return movement with respect to said work whereby to apply each said indexed turret carried tool element to said work and perform sequentially a plurality of operations on said work during each revolution of said cam shaft and produce one completed part.
 10. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cam actuated hydraulic valve means comprises a spool valve consisting of a housing including a body member having a valve spool bore axially therethrough, a cap element, and a base element having an annular segmental spherical bearing element therein, a stylus extending axially through said base element and said bearing element in annular spaced relationship with respect thereto including an enlarged segmental spherical flat headed bearing portion seated on said segmental bearing element in said housing, a valve spool reciprocatingly mounted in the valve spool bore of said housing, a compression spring in said valve body member constantly urging said valve spool against the flat head of the bearing portion of said stylus whereby to axially center said stylus, annular fluid passages in said valve spool and said valve spool bore, and ports connecting said valve spool bore passages selectively to a source of fluid under pressure and a return thereto and selectively to opposite ends of said double acting power cylinder, all responsive to cam controlled angular positioning of said stylus, the cam angles employed to angularly position said stylus to control the Rapid Advance and Rapid Return of said turret slide having steepness up to as high as 90*.
 11. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 10 wherein manual control means is provided to move said stylus independently of said cam controlled means whereby to move said turret slide hydraulically during set up of the turret lathe for change-over from one production run to another.
 12. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 10 wherein a hydraulic control valve slide mounted on fiXed ways disposed parallel to said turret slide ways has said hydraulic control valve means mounted thereon with the stylus thereof disposed directly over said cam shaft, a connecting rod fixed to said turret slide and extending parallel to said ways from said turret slide, and means removably clamping said hydraulic control valve slide to said connecting rod extending from said turret slide whereby said control valve slide is moved in unison with said turret slide in any longitudinal adjusted position with respect thereto.
 13. In an automatic turret lathe including a work holding and rotating headstock, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination, a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, a double acting hydraulic power cylinder having its piston connected to said turret slide for reciprocating the same to move each indexed tool element carried by said turret sequentially into and out of engagement with said work, a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce on completed part, a cam mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith, a cam actuated stylus operated hydraulic valve control means connecting said hydraulic fluid pressure source to opposite ends of said hydraulic cylinder reciprocating said turret slide whereby to apply said turret carried tool elements sequentially into and out of engagement with said rotating work, and said cam being formed to engage the stylus of said hydraulic valve control means at selected angles whereby to apply hydraulic fluid under pressure to said power cylinder and reciprocate said turret slide repeatedly with a Rapid Advance, relatively slow Tool Feed and Rapid Return movement with respect to said work causing said tool elements indexed by said turret to perform sequentially a plurality of operations on said work during each revolution of said cam shaft whereby to produce one completed part, a housing including a body member having a valve spool bore axially therethrough, a cap element and a base element having an annular segmental spherical bearing element therewith, a stylus extending axially through said base element and said bearing element in annular spaced relationship with respect thereto including an enlarged segmental spherical flat headed bearing portion seated on said segmental bearing element in said housing, a valve spool reciprocatingly mounted in the valve spool bore of said housing, a compression spring in said valve body member constantly urging said valve spool against the flat head of the bearing portion of said stylus whereby to axially center said stylus, annular fluid passages in said valve spool and said valve spool bore, and ports connecting said valve spool bore passages selectively to a source of fluid under pressure and a return thereto and selectively to opposite ends of said double acting power cylinder, all responsive to cam controlled angular positioning of said stylus, the cam angles employed to angularly position said stylus to control the Rapid Advance and Rapid Return of said turret slide having steepness up to as high as 90*.
 14. In an automatic turret lathe including a headstock for holding and rotating the work, a turret slide equipped with a turret carrying a plurality of tool elements and an indexing means presenting each said tool element sequentially for operational engagement with the rotating work, in combination, a cam shaft including means rotating the same one complete revolution to produce one completed part, a cam having beveled cam surfaces mounted on said cam shaft rotatable therewith, a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, a double acting hydraulic power cylinder for reciprocating the turret slide, a hydraulic control valve moving in unison with said turrEt slide controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid required for reciprocation of the turret slide, said hydraulic control valve having a valve spool and being oriented so that the axis of the valve spool forms substantially 90* angles with respect to the direction of motion of the turret slide and with the direction of motion of any cam element at the instant it actuates the valve, a valve spring urging the spool of said hydraulic control valve into its fully open position for causing forward movement of the turret slide, a valve actuating means for translating any input motion received from said cam into endwise motion of said valve spool against the pressure of said spring regardless of the direction of said input motion whereby to control the forward and return movement of the turret slide.
 15. In an automatic turret lathe as claimed in claim 14 wherein the valve actuating means consists of a valve operating plunger slidably mounted in a common axis with the valve spool having an upper flat end surface pressing the valve spool against the valve spring and a lower conically shaped end surface contacting the beveled edge surfaces of said cam so that any movement of the cam toward the axis of the plunger causes endwise movement of the valve spool against the spring regardless of the direction from which the cam edge approaches the axis of the plunger. 